Location
State: Latvia
Region: Kurzeme
County: Mērsrags
Parish: Mērsrags
Other references to the location
In very dense and overgrown woods, about 3.5 km NW of the centre of Mērsrags, far from roads and homesteads.
Coordinates
lat=57.3619444444, lon=23.0769444444
57° 21′ 42″ N, 23° 4′ 36″ E
Description
A beautiful and great in size stone hiding in the dense woods of Kurzeme. The size of the stone: length of 6.55 m, width of 3.6 m, height of 2.3–2.9 m, circumference of 17.1 m, volume of ~35 cubic meters. The size of the split part: length of 2.25, width of 0.2–0.3 m, height of 1.3 m. As to its composition, it is red large crystal granite. Hiking to this great stone can take several hours, but it is worth it — the imaginative stone looks like a shed overgrown with moss in the middle of woods. Around the stone — pits dug by searchers for hidden treasure.
Narrative
Tales narrate that in the stone holy maidens dwell whose hustle one can even hear. According to tales, at midday one can hear the sound of the holy maiden’s spinner. Not only tales about the spinning holy maiden are related to the stone but also about the castle of the pirate Markgraf and the hidden treasure. At one side of the stone in former times one could see the “door place”. As a stone of “holy maidens” it is unique, because actually it is the only one in Latvia with such a tale. More often tales about holy maidens are related to caves — the Māra’s Chambers (Māras kambari) and Holy Maidens’ Chambers (Svētmeitu kambari) (both sites located in Kurzeme), where researchers of mythology attribute them to underground divinities. Maybe here as well it was believed that the stone was related to some underground divinities, but it is possible also that the name of the stone is only a couple of centuries old and is related to Christianity.
Attraction
Average
Availability
Access hindered. There are no information signs. The object is situated in a marshy area, in overgrown deciduous-coniferous woods.From the crossroad one has to walk into the forest through marshy area, through overgrown woods. This walking may take about an hour, because the stone is in a dense fir tree area and cannot be noticed easily. The stone is overgrown with moss and cannot be noticed easily.
Infrastructure, management, facilities
There have been no facilitation and maintenance works performed within the territory, no indication signs.
Local info
There is no information stand on site
Capacity
10 – 40
Publicity
Known
Legal Status
Private
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